Tapered collapsible container



Feb. 26, 1963 p. l.. cRADDocK Erm. 3,079,062 TAPERED coLLAPsIBLECONTAINER Filed Feb-b 19. i960 Fired ree. ra, rase, ser. No. 9,763 aCranes. (ci. 229-16) This invention relates to collapsible containers,such as cardboard boxes, suita-ble for holding articles having a smallerdimension at one end than at the other.

An object of this invention is to provide a collapsible containeroccupying a volume only slightly greater than that of an article withone small end contained in it. Another object is to provide acollapsible container differing in shape from one en-d to the other andprovided with an absolutely flat end, permitting it to be stood on endfor counter or shelf display. Still another o-bject is to provide acollapsible container having a display panel of greater width than anyside of the end or base on which the container rests when placed on acounter or shelffor display.

.These objects are accomplished by constructing the container from ablank of cardboard or other suitable folda'ble material so designed thatone end will fold into a quadrilateral shape, which end may be providedwith a conventional tucked in flap closure, and the other end will cometo a more or less sharp edge disposed diagonally of the first end, andwith six longitudinally fold lines dividing the sides into sixtriangular panels. Four of these triangular panels will have basesadjoining the four edges of the bottom end of the finished container andapices at the ends of the diagonal top edge and the other two panelswill have bases along the diagonal -top edge of the finished containerand apices at two opposite corners of the bottom. The diagonal edgeopposite to the quadrilateral or bottom end may be left open if desired,since the edges of the stiff material will normally stay close together,or the diagonal edge may be closed by gluing or folding. When such ablank is properly assembled, with its glue iiap adhered to the oppositeedge of the blank in the usual manner, it will lie flat for storage andshipment and can be set up by opening the end described above as thebottom end -to its intended quadrilateral configuration, after which thecontents can be inserted and the bottom end can be closed by folding andtueking in the closure liaps. The container so made is a 7-facedpolyhedron with a quadrilateral fiat base and six vertical triangularside faces terminating in a single edge at the top.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFIG. 1 shows a cut-out blank for constructing one form of the container.FlG. 2 is a perspective view of the finished container. FIG. 3 shows ablank for making a modified form of the container, and FIG. 4 is aperspective view of the finished container of FIG. 3.

In FIG. l the cut-out container blank consists of a sheet of cardboardor other suitable foldable material having at one longitudinal edge 11 aglue flap 12 for adhesion to the other longitudinal edge 13. Since theedge 11 will later become a fold, it is suitably scored to facilitatefolding. In addition, five other score lines are provided between theedges 11 and 13, as will be explained below. The edges 11 and 13, whichwill come together to form one folded edge, and the central score line14 are always straight, so that the container with the glue fiap 12adhered to the opposing edge 13 will lie flat for storage and shipment.The other four longitudinal score lines may or may not be straight.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. l, the central 3,079,062 PatentedFeb. 26, 1953 score line 14 forms the edge between -two panels 15 and 16of triangular shape. In the simple form of the invention illustrated, inwhich the bottom is square and the top edge has a length equal to thediagonal of the square, these panels 15 and 16 are right triangles withbases 17 and 18 forming common edges with the square bottom and eachhaving as a hypotenuse score lines 19 and 2t) respectively, extendingfrom opposite corners 21 and 22 of the square bottom to one end 23 ofthe diagonal top edge 24 of the container. Adjoining the score lines 19and 2d are two more panels 25 and 26 in the shape of isoscelestriangles, the bases of which are at the diagonal top edge of thecontainer formed -by the score line 24, which is the base of triangularpanel 25, and the mating free edge 27, which is the base of thecorresponding opposite triangular panel 26. The remaining sides of theseisosceles triangular panels 25 and 26 are formed by score lines 28 and29, respectively, equal in length to lines 19 and 2d. The score lines 23and 29 form the hypotenuse of the remaining panels 30 and 31,respectively, equal in size to panels 15 and 16. Panels 30 and 31 willultimately come together at a folded edge formed Iby junction of thefolded edge 11 of the glue flap and free edge 13 of the blank. The basesof panels 30 and 31 are the remaining two sides 32 and 33 of the squarebottom of the finished container and are equal in length to sides 17 and18. For closure of the square end any three of the sides 17, 18, 32 and33 are provided with the usual flaps 34, 3S and 36, one of which, 36 inthis case, is of sufficient size to cover the entire square opening andhas the usual tuck-in fiap 37. Since the tuck-in flap 37 will lieagainst the inside of a triangular panel, it is necessary for one cornerof the tuck-in flap to be cut away at the same angle as the hypotenuseof the triangular panel, as indicated at 38.

The top or diagonal edge of the container, formed by juxtaposition offold line 24 at the top of panel 25 and free edge 27 of the panel 26,may be closed by a fiap 39 having a tongue 40, which can be inserted ina slit 41 in the opposing face 26 of the finished container.

The cut-out blank is put together by applying glue in the usual mannerto the glue fiap 12 and by folding the blank along score lines 11 and14, so as to adhere the glue iiap 12 to the blank adjacent to itsopposite edge 13. The glued -blank will then be perfectly flat forconvenience in storage `and handling with panels 15, 25 and 30 on oneside and panels 16, 26 and 31 on the other side.

When the box is to be set up, fiap 39 is folded on score line 24 whichattaches it to panel 25, and the tongue dil is inserted in the slit 41,which operation closes the top diagonal edge of the final container. Thebottom end is then opened by spreading edges 17 and 32 from edges 18 and33 to an approximately square opening, through which the contents of thecontainer may be inserted. The square bottom end is then closed byfolding down flaps 34 and 35, followed by flap 36, which is held inplace by the tuck-in ap 37 in the usual manner.

The finished container has a perfectly fia-t square base upon which itcan be stood perfectly steady without any rocking. When so stood up itwill have the appearance of a square prism with parallel vertical faces,having two of the vertical edges sliced off from corners 21 and 22 atthe Vbottom to a diagonal line 24 at the opposing or top end. This willleave triangular remnants 15, 3i), 16, and 31 of the hypotheticaloriginally rectangular side faces and will produce two triangular wedgefaces 25 and 26 coming together at the diagonal edge just mentioned.This aspect is illustrated in FIG. 2, showing the Completed container soturned that the right-hand edge will be the edge 11 resulting fromfolding back and gluing of the glue flap 12. The left-hand edge in FIG.2 is the 3 central straight fold line 14. The two visible bottom edgesare edges 52 and 17 and the visible one of the two wedge faces is panel25 extending from bottom corner 21 to the diagonal top edge 24.

The new form of container exhibits numerous advantages. As alreadymentioned, it has an absolutely at steady base for display purposes andhas a pair of display panels 25 and 26 having a width over 46% greaterthan any of the square edges of the bottom surface, so that it lendsitself particularly well to self-serve marketing, in which an extensivedisplay surface is especially desirable. If desired, one of thesedisplay panels, or any 'of the other panels, may be provided with awindow for inspection of the contents without the necessity of openingthe container. Since the top of the container ends in an edge ratherthan a surface, the volume of the finished container is very much lessthan that of a conventional completely rectangular container of the sizerequired to contain the kind of article vsmaller at one end than at theother for which this new type of container is intended. Consequently,such articles packaged in these containers can be shipped in cart-ons indouble rows with the bases' facing away from one another and with thediagonal top edges intermeshed so" as to reduce very substantially thevolume required for shipping and storage of the packaged articles.

In spite of the substantial reduction in volume loccupied by thesecontainers, they are adequate to hold articles ofconsiderable bulk ifthe bulky portion is near one end. Thus the container of the kinddescribed above will receive a circular disc or cylinder of the samediameter as the` length of the square edges of the base, without anybulging of the walls, if the top edge of the disc 4or cylinder islocatedV not over twenty-nine-hundredths of theheight of the containerfrom the base. Moreover, the container will receive ak sphere ofthe samediameter as the length of the squareY edges of the base, or a sphericalend portion of an article smaller at the other end, without any bulgingof the walls, if the height of the containerV from the square base tothe diagonal top is at least twice of the length of the square edges ofthe base.

In' the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 some of the score Vlines and theresulting fold edges are curved. The blank Iof FIG; 3 mayrhave the sameexternal dimensions as that of FIG. l, with the same straight fold edgesil adjacen-t the glue ap 12 which is to be adhered to the oppositestraight edge 13, the same straight central fold line 14, and the sameequal edges 17, 1S, 32'and 33 defining the square bottom end closed withfolded liaps 34, 35,- and 36, the latter having the usual tuck-in ap 37.The top closure ap 42, -in this illustration, has been shown asconnected to the left hand panel, and its tongue 43 is consequentlyintended for insertion in slit 44 in the right-hand panel.

The principal difference between this embodiment and that of FIG. 1 isthat the intermediate score lines are curved so as to form curved edgeswhen the box is set up. Thus the panels 45 and d6 on either side of thecentral fold line 14 are not simple triangles but are bounded by curvedscore lines 47 and 48 instead of a straight hypotenuse, these lines( inthis instance being doubly curved in the form of an ogee curve. The nextpair of panels 49 and 50 are bounded on their opposite edges bysymmetrically turned ogee shaped score lines 51 and 52, leaving marginalpanels 53 and 54 of the same shape as the central panels 45 and 46.

Since the ogee shaped score lines have their extremities tangential ornearly so to straight fold lines 1l and14, and to the free edge 13 whichwill be adhered to fold line 11, it is preferred to omit those portionsof the ogee score lines which lie close to other fold lines, and toterminate them at short transverseV slits or score lines 5S joining thevclosely adjacent branches of the ogee shaped sco-re lines. When the glueflap 12 is adhered to the opposite margin 13, the slits or score lines5S will appear as transverse interruptions in the folds of the sheetmaterial. When the container is set up, this permits the material tobreak into clean folds along the entire length of the ogee score lines47, 4S, 51 and 52, up to the slits or score lines S5, with the remainingporti-ons of the wide longitudinal panels 49 and 50 near the top of thecontainer being separated by short straight single folds instead of aplurality of closely adiacent folds.

In Athis embodiment, as in the other, the glued. folded box, before itis set up, lies perfectly flat. When it is set up by folding ldap 42 andtucking tongue 43 in slit 44, opening the square end and folding tuckingthe closure aps, the box has an absolutely flat bottom on which it canstand without rocking. FG. 4, the diagonal panels, such as panel 49extending from the diagonal top edge of one of the corners of thebot-tom, maintain a width nearly as great as the length of the diagonaltop edge for almost half the length of the container, so as to providean extensive area for identiiication or other display purposes. lowerhalf of the container has its volume only slightly reduced, because ofthe narrowness of panel 49 between the lower branches of ogee fold linesd'7 and 51, andthe consequent non-planar, curved shape of the` face ofpaneles.

It is plain that other proportions maybe used, since it is not essentialthat the container have a square bottom, or parallel side panels, or asharp upper diagonal edge, or the exact shape of straight or curvedintermediate score lines shown in these embodiments, if the shape of thearticle to be contained should make it desirable to modify some of theseelements. Nevertheless, it appears now to be most advantageous toincorporate square bottoms and parallel sides when the shape of thecontained article permits.

We claim:

l. A tapered collapsible container of foldable materialI having 7 faces,one face being a flat quadrlateral base provided with a closure, twopairs of faces being generally triangular vertical sides with each sidehaving a common edge with the base and each pair of sides joined along astraight vertical fold line, a pair of vertically converging wedgefacesconnecting the pairs of sides along their entire vertical lengthsand extending from opposite corners of the base to a narrow top having adirection diagonal to the base.

2. A container as in claim l in which the base is square and the top hasa length equal to the diagonal of the square.

3. A container as -in claim 2 in which all the edges' are Straight.

4. A container as in claim 2 in which the lateral edges of the wedgefaces are convexly curved near the top.

5. A container as in claim 2 in which the lateral edges of the wedgefaces are concave near the bottom.

6. A container as in claim 2 in which the lateral edges of the wedgefaces are convex near the top and concave near the bottom. 7. A taperedcollapsible container of foldable material having 7 faces, one facebeing a ilat quadrilateral base provided with a closure, two pairs offaces being generally triangular vertical sides with each side having acommon edge with the base and each pair of sides joined along a straightvertical fold line, a pair of vertically converging wedge facesconnecting the pairs of sides along their entire Verti-cal lengths andjoined to them by curved fold lines extending from opposite corners ofthe base and approaching the said straight fold lines approximatelytangentially, the said curved fold lines terminating short of the top atshor-t lines each of which extends from one curved fold line across astraight fold line to another curved fold line, the said wedge facesterminating in a narrow top having a direction diagonal to the base.

In this case, as shown in At the same time, theI 5 8. A container `as inclaim 7 in which the base is square, and the top is =a folded edgehaving a length equal to the diagonal of the square and is closed by aflap. References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,025,606 Bayless et a1. May 7, 1912 1,597,757 Berger Aug. 31, 19261,833,974 Powell et a1. Dec. 1, 1931 6 Ware Dec. 8, 1936 Williamson Jan.19, 1937 Chapman Jan. 10, 1939 Butler Feb. 14, 1939 Moore Feb. 8, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 8, 1943 Nerway July 9, 1945 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Nov 3O79,062February 26 1963 Donald L Craddock et ale It is hereby certified thaterror appears in the above numbered pat-Q ent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column l, line 30U for "longitudinally" read lo'nqitud;==

nal column 3v line 57 for "The" read e This column lv line 13I after"folding" insert and line l7 for "of", first occurrence read to Signedand sealed this list day of October 1963.,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

1. A TAPERED COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER OF FOLDABLE MATERIAL HAVING 7 FACES,ONE FACE BEING A FLAT QUADRILATERAL BASE PROVIDED WITH A CLOSURE, TWOPAIRS OF FACES BEING GENERALLY TRIANGULAR VERTICAL SIDES WITH EACH SIDEHAVING A COMMON EDGE WITH THE BASE AND EACH PAIR OF SIDES JOINED ALONG ASTRAIGHT VERTICAL FOLD LINE, A PAIR OF VERTICALLY CONVERGING WEDGE FACESCONNECTING THE PAIRS OF SIDES ALONG THEIR ENTIRE VERTICAL LENGTHS ANDEXTENDING FROM OPPOSITE CORNERS OF THE